We Will Walk in Shadows
by gosai-girl
Summary: After hearing that something has happened to his son, Lord Garmadon pays a visit to the Destiny's Bounty. Lloyd, awkward in his new body, accidentally injures Garmadon, stimulating the venom in his veins and setting off a chain of events that may just change father and son forever. [Set immediately after "Child's Play"]
1. Beginning Anew

**We Will Walk in Shadows**

 **Chapter 1: Beginning Anew**

In front of the mirror on the Destiny's Bounty, Lloyd inspected his older self. His hair was longer, as were his arms, legs and torso, and his hands and feet were bigger. He turned his face right, then left, then let out a long "aaaahh" to listen to his deepened voice. It was bizarre. He didn't even really know how old he was now- if he was the same age as the other ninja or if he was still younger than them.

But, he supposed, it didn't really matter anyway. All it meant to be older was that he was that much closer to facing his father. His stomach twisted nervously as he thought this, and he watched in the mirror as his mouth turned down involuntarily. He wasn't sure he was ready, physically or mentally, for what was to come. He wasn't even used to his new body yet. In the two weeks since his sudden aging up in the comic book shop, he'd been causing accidents all over the ship doing everyday things. He'd knocked his head on the shorter door frames of the ship countless times. He'd knocked things over as he reached for them, being unused to his longer arm length. And he'd been hurting the other ninja in training whenever he hit or kicked out at them for the same reason, reaching too far with and putting too much of his new strength behind his longer limbs as he struck out.

Not to mention he hadn't been able to successfully do Spinjitsu yet. His balance was off, and his extra strength meant that he usually destroyed something before he fell on his butt out of his unsuccessful Spin. And though he often heard the ninja grumbling about his inadvertent destructiveness, it was only after he'd accidently broken through the wall between the bridge and the deck where they trained that Nya had forbidden him from trying to Spin on the ship, annoyed that he'd also broken some of the ship's equipment, which she herself had to repair.

That was a week ago, and they'd settled down in an open field of sand at the edge of the desert right outside of Ninjago City. Since then he'd just been making dust storms trying unsuccessfully to Spin, winding up on his behind in the middle of a sand tornado that left him and the other ninja coughing the rest of the day. With all these accidents, and the ninja constantly groaning in pain after training him, Sensei Wu had told him to take the rest of the day off, and that tomorrow he would restart his training from square one. And while Lloyd wasn't exactly sure what that meant, he was pretty sure he'd be going back to something like "Learning to Balance 101," which, he had to admit with embarrassment, was probably where he needed to restart training anyway.

Despite his slow adaptation to his new body, he at least took comfort in the fact that he still had his power. As if to prove it to himself, he cupped his hands around the empty air in front of his chest and focused, the green glowing energy beginning to burn between them. He pulled his hands apart too quickly to expand his power, and the energy exploded outwards. Lloyd flinched away from the huge flash of light. He felt his hair sweep backwards and heard the mirror shatter as his power expanded to fill the small room, passing over him like a warm breeze, and then disappeared. He squinted his eyes open and sighed when he noticed the shards of the mirror on the counter and scattered on the ground at his feet. Yet another thing destroyed thanks to him and his new body. He caught a glimpse of his reflection in a mirror shard. His hair stood up as is he'd been electrocuted, and his face was blackened as if he'd been burned.

Sensei had said that his aging up meant that the final battle was drawing nearer, but Lloyd couldn't help but wonder if the balance had been tipped in his father's favor.

 _Author's Note: Disregard everything after the episode "Child's Play." This story picks up after that episode and does not follow the plot of the rest of Season 2. The first two chapters are rather short, but this is a pretty long story. The chapters will also get longer as the story progresses, so if you like this little bit so far, stick around for the rest! Also, for future reference, the Jay/Nya relationship is not established, but will be included in this story._


	2. A Harmless Visit

**Chapter 2: A Harmless Visit**

The Destiny's Bounty sat about four hundred bricks from the edge of Ninjago City, far enough away that the bright lights of the city faded before reaching her anchor spot. The desert sands were dark, but the Bounty's internal lights created a barrier of warm golden light around her to protect the inhabitants of the vessel from the cold desert, which appeared blue in color in the light of the nearly full moon.

Lord Garmadon stood outside the reach of the light of the Bounty, blue desert sand cold beneath his feet. He stared at the ship, entirely out of place in a climate notoriously lacking in water, and gripped the staff of the Golden Weapon tighter in his four hands. Here in the darkness of the night, he felt completely detached from his brother, his son, the ship he had lived on briefly and captained even more briefly. Standing here in the darkness, he felt as if it would be somehow wrong to step into the warm glow of the ninja's unconventional home. But he saw no other choice.

Garmadon dropped his two lower hands to his sides, and was about to begin walking again when one of the Serpentine behind him cleared his throat for Garmadon's attention, and stepped forward out of the group of snakes to speak. Garmadon exhaled and turned to the nervous looking snake.

"What?" he growled out threateningly.

The green snake stuttered helplessly before finally getting out, "Forgive me, My Lord, but some of the Serpentine want to know exactly what we're trying to do here before we-" he gulped, "walk right into the ninja's home."

"We're not going to fight the ninja in their own home," Garmadon answered, annoyed. "I just need to see my son." He turned to the crowd of snakes behind him, and shouted, "Which one of you was it who told me that something had happened to my son after our encounter in the museum?"

Mumbling arose within the crowd of snakes, and a moment later a short Serpentine with black scales was shoved forward and stumbled to a halt in front of Garmadon. He glanced backwards to glare briefly at the crowd, then declined his head respectfully as he spoke.

"Th-that was me, My Lord."

"And what exactly was it that happened to my son?"

"W-well, I didn't hear much while I was on the surface in Ninjago City a few days ago, but from what I heard it would seem Lloyd has undergone a- a- a transformation of some sort." The slithery reptile shut his eyes and lowered his head away from Garmadon as if he would be struck for merely delivering the news, but the Dark Lord turned to address the crowd again instead.

"That is why we are here, my Serpentine. Something has happened to my son, and I must find out what has been done to him!" Garmadon surveyed the crowd. "We are not to alert the ninja to our presence. You are merely here in case the ninja decide to make a fight out of my visit to my son. Now keep yourselves quiet as we approach. The ninja are most likely asleep, but they are always on the alert. Understood?"

The snakes all nodded quickly.

"Good. But remember: do not attack unless absolutely necessary. And no one is to attack my son. Let's move."

At his command, most of the snakes dove into the sand, and the few above ground walked behind Garmadon as he approached the land-ridden vessel. They stepped into the golden circle of light around the ship, but instead of feeling out of place, Garmadon only felt a few steps closer to his son.

 _Author's Note: Favorite for the use of "bricks" as a unit of measurement._

 _Also, thank you for the reviews! I love that everyone is such a Lloyd-lover._

 _Also, another short chapter, but I promise they will get longer. :)_


	3. Less-Than-Harmless Visitors

**Chapter 3: Less-Than-Harmless Visitors**

In the bridge of the Bounty, a single light blinked on a dashboard of electrical equipment. The label beneath the blinking light read "Proximity Warning," and the equipment connected to the blinking alert was programmed to set off an alarm within the ship's walls, warning its sleeping inhabitants of the approach of unexpected guests. As the mysterious intruders neared, the motion detector prepared to sound the alarm if the motion continued twenty bricks closer to the ship.

Then, suddenly, when the movement reached within a brick of the alert range, the blinking light shut off, as did the motion detector and every other piece of equipment in the bridge. The creatures walked within the warning range, paused, and then continued when the absence of an alarm was noted.

Within the ship, all inhabitants but one slept soundly. The restless ninja tossed and turned and tangled himself in his blankets, and then awoke suddenly with a gasp as if sensing the creatures closing in on the ship and the malfunctions in the equipment. The awakened ninja tumbled out of bed and struggled into his gi before creeping quietly to the deck of the ship. He heard boards creak with what he was sure was not just old age, and walked slowly to the other end of the deck as he called out, "I know you're here. Come out and face me, or I'll wake up the other ninja just inside to hunt you down."

He heard a sudden loud creaking behind him and whipped around. There in the middle of the deck stood the ninja's four-armed nemesis, face shadowed from the light of the bright moon by his bone-embedded helmet.

"D-dad," the green ninja stuttered, shocked into fright. He heard the shadowed figure suck in a breath.

A moment later, the door the ninja had just come out of opened again, but instead of his fellow ninja, a trio of Serpentine emerged. One held a lantern to illuminate the otherwise dark deck of the ship. The light of the lantern cast a shadow of the helmeted four-armed man which completely encompassed the ninja.

 _The Serpentine had gotten into the ship somehow._

The ninja reacted suddenly, drawing his hand back and feeling the warm energy of his power growing in his palm. He threw his hand forward and a ball of green energy shot towards the snakes. They yelled out in fright and dove to the ground, but the four-armed man reached out with his golden weapon and deflected the energy with the head of the staff. The ease with which he fended off the attack frightened the ninja into not trying it again. Right now, awkwardly large in his own body and unable to Spin or even control his powers, he was helpless against his father.

"Easy, Lloyd. We're not here to fight," Lord Garmadon assured him. Despite his words, as he finished speaking nearly twenty Serpentine climbed over the edges of the ship on either side of Lloyd and stood at the ready. The Serpentine behind Garmadon stood again and tried to look intimidating, as if they hadn't all screamed in terror at the threat of the ninja's attack.

Being suddenly surrounded, Lloyd could feel his power building up involuntarily in his hands again. The energy within his hands let out a green glow which chased away the shadow of his father looming over him. "Not here to fight, huh? Then why did you bring an army?"

His father lowered his staff, holding it down by his side as he began walking towards Lloyd. "To make sure you would not fight, as well," Garmadon said.

"Don't come any closer, Dad," Lloyd warned, holding up his hands in which his power glowed brightly.

Garmadon hesitated a moment, but continued walking towards Lloyd, who turned to his left suddenly and threw the energy ball in his right hand at a Serpentine. The snake yelled and was flung backwards heels over head over the side of the boat as Lloyd's attack hit him. Lloyd turned back to his dad, who was now running at him, and drew his hand back to attack again. Garmadon knocked his hand away with the head of the Mega Weapon, and Lloyd could feel the power in his hand extinguish suddenly.

"I told you we're not here to fight. Now put the other one out," Lord Garmadon instructed, referring to the power still glowing in Lloyd's other hand. He was now standing right in front of Lloyd, and their eyes met without Lloyd having to tilt his head back on his neck. Despite this, looking at his father this close, Lloyd still felt like the kid again who wanted so desperately to be evil like his father. He obeyed immediately, clenching his fist as if to choke the life out of his power to extinguish it. Without the green glow of his power surrounding him, Lloyd was back in his father's shadow from the light of the lantern.

"Now take off your mask so I can see your face."

He obeyed again, feeling almost comforted by the familiar gentle his father was speaking to him. Garmadon sighed as if relieved as he inspected Lloyd's face and new body.

"You're … older." He sounded confused. "What happened to you?"

Remembering Sensei's words then, Lloyd raised his chin defiantly and said, "What happened is that now I'm old enough to fight you."

Garmadon took as step back as if surprised and brought his Mega Weapon up, holding it across his chest in front of him as if protecting himself from Lloyd's words. "So you are," he conceded. "However-" he began, but Lloyd didn't give him the chance to finish.

He ignited his energy in his palms, which glowed gold for reasons Lloyd didn't have time to consider, and thrust his hands forward, one attack hitting his father directly in his armored chest and the other deflecting off the handle of Mega Weapon. Garmadon was thrown backwards with a yell, and the Serpentine moved forward to defend him.

"No!" he shouted as he stood quickly. "Do not attack my son!"

As Lloyd advanced on him, throwing his golden energy, Garmadon heard the door to the interior of the ship open behind him.

"Whoa!"

He recognized the voice of the blue ninja, and a moment later that of the red one with the fire inside.

"Hold on, guys! This is Lloyd's fight."

"But what about the snakes on our boat?" Black ninja.

Garmadon noticed then that the Serpentine were closing in on the ninja.

"Stand down, Serpentine!" he commanded as a ball of energy shot past his helmet. The snakes halted.

"This is Lloyd's destiny," the white ninja reminded his friends. "We have no part in this fight."

And the ninja fell silent in anticipation as they watched Lloyd fight his father. Garmadon seemed to only be on the defensive, deflecting Lloyd's attacks with the head of the Mega Weapon and drawing closer to the wall of the ship as Lloyd advanced on him. Occasionally he would thrust the head of the spear out at Lloyd to make him leap backwards, but he never once struck out at his son. After a minute of this, Jay spoke.

"What's he doing? It's like he's not even trying."

"Which one?" Cole asked as Garmadon bounced away a particularly weak and poorly aimed attack.

"This isn't exactly how I imagined this fight would happen," Kai said.

"It would appear as if Garmadon is trying not to harm Lloyd," Zane observed as Garmadon thrust out again.

"Lloyd is not ready for this fight," Sensei Wu said from behind the ninja. "He looks unsure."

"Unsure about what?" Nya asked, standing next to Sensei.

"About whether or not he wants to be the one to finally defeat Garmadon," Sensei answered.

"But he doesn't have a choice," Kai reminded them as if saying it aloud would make Lloyd fight as he needed to.

"That is why he is not yet ready for this fight," Sensei answered. "He is not sure if he is capable of doing what must in order to finally end the battle between good and evil."

"But why would he be unsure about that?" Jay asked in disbelief.

"Because he is fighting his father," Sensei answered.

The ninja's conversation ended as they watched Lloyd throw a particularly large energy ball. It hit the head of the Mega Weapon and wrenched it out of Garmadon's two right hands. Before he could lift the weapon with his two left hands to shield himself again, Lloyd ran forward and grabbed onto the length of the staff with his left hand, which glowed in reaction to his touch. He reached out with his right hand to grab his father's wrist, but the energy was still burning in his palm as he grabbed hold of his father. Garmadon yelled out in pain and, horrified, Lloyd tried unsuccessfully to let go of his father and the weapon. He cried out in fright as a strange energy overcame him, and he felt his hand grip tighter around his father's wrist. Garmadon yelled out again as he tried to jerk his hand out of Lloyd's grasp, and Lloyd called out to the ninja, "Guys, help! I can't let go!"

The ninja and Serpentine moved in quickly to pull Lloyd away from his father as the golden light began travelling up Garmadon's arm, but a sudden involuntary shock of elemental lightning emanating from Lloyd threw them all backwards. He watched in terror as a strange grey mist began floating into the air where Garmadon's arm was engulfed in light.

"Lloyd! You have to stop using your power on him!" Nya called out, trying as the ninja were trying to prevent the battle they had all anticipated for so long.

"I- I can't!" he shouted, trying to tug his hand away.

The energy reached Garmadon's shoulder and began travelling up his neck, and he reached for the staff with his two right hands and yanked, pulling the weapon free of Lloyd's grip with a grunt of effort. He let go of the weapon with his two left hands and swung it around. The pointed spear at the bottom slashed Lloyd across the face, and with the shock of the sudden cut and the weapon no longer in his hands, Lloyd's golden energy extinguished from his hands and from his father's arm. Garmadon stumbled backwards and collapsed, and the Serpentine rushed over to prop him up.

Panic jolted through Lloyd at the sight of his weakened father. He pushed through the snakes surrounding Garmadon and fell to his knees in front of him. Up close, he could see his father's chest still moving as he breathed, but his breaths were slow and shallow. The skin of his burned arm was puckered and bleeding and looking a sickly grey color.

"Dad," he called out to him as he reached for Garmadon's shoulders. The golden weapon glowed at Garmadon's side as Lloyd neared it, and he jerked his hands away. "Dad, are you alright?" he asked desperately, nearly in tears.

Garmadon sucked in a breath and his eyelids fluttered, revealing a hint of the glowing red beneath, but he did not- could not- open his eyes as he spoke. "My- my son," he rasped, voice hoarse and weak.

"Dad! Dad, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I never meant to hurt you, I never wanted to do this to you," Lloyd exhaled all at once, fists clenching as he tried to hold back his emotions. He could feel blood running down his cheek where the weapon had cut him.

Garmadon merely breathed loudly for a moment, and then looked Lloyd in the eyes and panted out, "I'm sorry, Lloyd. I never wanted this to happen to you." And Lloyd watched as his father reached for the golden weapon with his unharmed right hands. Behind him, he heard Kai, Cole and Nya shouting to him, all speaking at the same time.

"Lloyd, look out!"

"He's going for the weapon!"

"Lloyd, get away from him!"

But he couldn't bring himself to move as his father, who couldn't even sit up on his own because of what Lloyd himself had done to him, brought the weapon out in front of himself to use it.

The Serpentine surrounding Garmadon began moving suddenly, surging past Lloyd to fight the ninja who were rushing over to protect the green ninja. He could hear them fighting behind him and calling his name as his father spoke again.

"Mega Weapon," he shouted, voice surprisingly strong, "I wish to go back to Ouroboros the fastest way possible!"

Garmadon held the weapon high in the air as the head of the staff began to glow, a purple and black mist forming around it. As his vision blurred, he watched as Lloyd was yanked away from him. He could feel his arms trembling with the weight of the weapon, and let it collapse onto himself when it stopped glowing. A second later he heard a huge thud next to the ship and felt the ground shake beneath the vessel. The ninja all yelled out in surprise, and right before Garmadon's vision blacked out entirely, he saw the head of a purple and black dragon reach over the edge of the ship and let out a skull-rattling roar.

 _AN: I don't mean to sound conceited, but every time I read this chapter I imagine how cool it would look if it was animated. :3_

 _P.S. Did I misspell Ouroboros? Oroboros?_


	4. Repercussions

**Chapter 4: Repercussions**

 _AN: So I know this is a big break from canon already. Hopefully you guys will stick with me. I've got a lot of ideas to make this story great and I hope I can keep an audience, because I'm really proud of what I've come up with. Thank you to everyone who's followed and favorited and thank you for hanging around long enough to read this!_

Lloyd had been missing for over twelve hours since the incident with his father. The ninja were frantic. The Bounty hovered over the streets of Ninjago City, and the four outfitted ninja leaned over the sides of the ship with binoculars, searching the shifting midday crowds for the familiar head of white blonde hair.

"I don't understand," Kai, said, pulling his binoculars away from his eyes. "Why would Lloyd run away from us?"

Jay straightened up and lowered his own binoculars. "Well, you saw him last night. He nearly burned Garmadon alive. And he couldn't even stop himself."

"Yeah, he seemed pretty freaked. And it's like Sensei said: he wasn't ready for that fight last night," Cole reminded them, letting his binoculars hang from the string around his neck.

Zane, who had been standing motionless, eyes glowing blue as he searched the city with his Falcon Vision, blinked his eyes back to their normal color and walked over the other ninja.

"Despite what has been foretold about the Green Ninja, Lloyd still cares for his father. He most likely needs some time to himself to come to terms with his destiny of defeating Lord Garmadon."

Kai sighed. "You're right. I just wish he didn't feel like he needs to get away from us to do that," he said.

The door to the interior of the ship opened, and Nya walked over to the ninja, looking worried.

"Any sign of him yet?" she asked.

"None so far, sis," Kai told her with a frown and a shrug.

Nya let out a sigh.

"I'm sorry, Nya. We will keep searching," Zane reassured her before he went rigid again, eyes turning blue as switched back to Falcon Vision.

"I just feel so helpless. More than half of our equipment is still down after those snakes tore up all our electrical connections," Nya said. "We could be finding him so much faster if I wasn't having such a hard time repairing everything."

Jay moved closer to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "It's not your fault, Nya. Those snakes really did a number on the Bounty. It's a heck of a job for anyone to fix." He gave her a shy smile, which she returned.

"Besides, we can find him just fine the old-fashioned way, right guys?" Cole encouraged, leaning over the ship again to search.

"I guess we're just lucky they didn't mess with any of the engines," Nya said. "If we were stuck on the ground we'd never find him."

"As long as we all work together, we'll find him no matter how we have to search," Kai told them.

"Agreed," Jay said, and went back to the edge of the ship to continue searching.

"C'mon, Nya," Kai said, "let's go see if Sensei has any ideas about where to search next." He put his arm around her as they walked back into the ship.

When the siblings were out of earshot, Cole lowered his binoculars and asked, "You guys really think we'll find Lloyd searching the way we're searching?"

Zane blinked his eyes back to their normal color and said, "I regret to say it seems highly unlikely. Realistically, Lloyd could be anywhere in Ninjago at any time, and we only have eyes on a few blocks of Ninjago City. If no one can think of a better way to search for him, it will be difficult to find him this way. We may just have to wait for him to come back to us."

"No way," interjected Jay. "We can't just wait for Lloyd to come back. What if something happened to him and he can't come back? Not to mention he left on the Ultra Dragon. He can't be that hard to find when he's lugging that cargo around." He gestured a little too wildly with his arms and accidentally flung his binoculars over the side of the ship. He lunged after them and missed, and then groaned, mumbling to himself, "Sure hope no one is standing under those on the street."

"Well, either way, we can't just float up here all day waiting for Lloyd to stroll into our sights," Cole said. "Let's go talk to Sensei."

"I just hope he has a few good ideas up his sleeve," Jay wished aloud, wincing as he heard a faint, "Ouch!" from the street down below the ship. He leaned over the edge and shouted, "Sorry!" before rushing after the others to get some much needed advice from Sensei Wu.

* * *

Lloyd couldn't believe the terrible shape the monastery was in now. Though he had spent much of his childhood at Darkley's, he could still remember living at the monastery with his uncle, his mother and his father. He hadn't been back since his father had sent him to boarding school, and his stomach had dropped when, from the saddle of the Ultra Dragon in the sky, he'd realized the blackened mess on the top of the mountain was his former home.

The dragon had landed in the courtyard, where he could remember his father and uncle training together, and Lloyd left him there to fall asleep as he carefully made his way through a few of the rooms within the charred framework of the building. He had to pass through the structure a few times before he recognized his old room. His throat felt tight as he scooped up a handful of ashes and let it sift through his fingers, realizing with a surprising amount of emotion that there was nothing left from his childhood. His dusted the ashes from his hand on the leg of his gi, and began walking again, following the familiar route from his bedroom to the kitchen with his eyes closed, pretending for a moment that he was still a little kid surrounded by walls with a mother and a father in a normal household.

A sudden gust of freezing wind blew a cloud of ashes into his face and chased away the illusion. He stopped in what was formerly the kitchen, opening his eyes with a sigh, reminding himself that his old life wasn't reality anymore. His mother was out of the picture, his childhood home was destroyed and his father was evil. He rubbed at his cheek where his father had cut him with the weapon last night as the cold wind irritated the deep slash. The cut had taken a while to stop bleeding and had yet to stop hurting, and Lloyd had a feeling that even when the cut was gone a scar would remain, forever a reminder of what his relationship with his father had become. The right shoulder of his gi was stained red from where he had pressed his face into the cloth to stop the bleeding. The gash still felt like it was gaping open, and he knew he would need Nya or one of the other ninja to stitch him up when he finally reunited with them.

With a sigh, Lloyd slowly made his way from one end of the monastery to the other, allowing himself to remember what each room had looked like and relive moments he had shared with his family before they had all been torn apart. He inspected the vertical beams until he found one with enough footholds in it, and then climbed to the top to walk along the beams parallel to the ground, nearly tripping over his large feet and falling to the ground more than once. Sitting down on one of the sturdier beams, he stared out over the horizon at the setting sun, legs dangling and feet swinging absently.

A shape emerging from the clouds caught Lloyd's attention, and he watched as the obvious outline of the Destiny's Bounty drew closer to the monastery. It came to a floating stop next to the gates, and Lloyd could see Zane and Kai watching him from over the side of the ship. Sensei came out onto the deck, and moved to the edge of the ship as well, tossing a rope over the side and sliding down to the rocky ground just outside the monastery gates.

Lloyd turned his attention back to the setting sun, to the clouds tinted pink and orange, and sooner than should have been possible his uncle was settling down next to Lloyd, pulling out his teapot from whichever mysterious place he kept it.

A moment of silence passed, and Lloyd, knowing that his uncle would not be the first to speak, broke the silence, saying, "You never told me this happened to our home, Uncle."

"I did not think it necessary to distress you with such news," his uncle answered easily, lowering his teacup. "You were still a young child only recently."

"And when I aged up? What about then?" Lloyd asked, knowing it wasn't necessary to push the issue even as he did so.

"Telling you would only have served to distract you from your destiny."

"I could've handled it," Lloyd insisted in a pouting voice that sounded too much like his childhood self for his own liking.

Sensei sighed and put away his teapot. "Lloyd," he began, prompting the young ninja to look up at his uncle, "you have always been very focused and very passionate, but you have also always loved with all of your heart. You were, and still are, having trouble accepting that it is you who must defeat your father, whatever that may entail. Telling you that this had happened to your childhood home… to our home… would have served no purpose other than to upset you when our family's future and history had already become so complex. I did not think this important enough to tell you when you have already become so troubled by your burdens."

Lloyd looked down at his hands, and then out again at the falling sun. "You should've told me," he muttered in a last-ditch attempt to be right.

"Perhaps I made a mistake in not telling you," Sensei conceded, "but now that you know you must not let this knowledge affect your training."

"I won't, Uncle," Lloyd assured him, clenching his fists around the fabric of his pant legs. "I can stay focused."

Sensei nodded in silence, and then produced his teapot again, this time offering a cup to Lloyd, who took it gratefully. After a moment his uncle chuckled to himself, and Lloyd looked at him questioningly.

"Do you remember how often you used to sneak out here to try to train with your father?" Sensei reminisced.

Lloyd laughed. "He would put me on his shoulders and spin us around, and called it Spinjitsu."

"And even after your mother pulled you off his back and took you inside, you would sit in front of the window and watch him."

Lloyd smiled gently at the memories. As silently as his uncle had appeared, the other ninja and Nya joined them sitting on the bones of the monastery. And as Nya stitched him up, Lloyd and Sensei shared their memories from a time of peace and normalcy.

* * *

After countless dreams of black dragons and his son with red eyes gripping his forearms and slowly igniting his entire body in burning gold light, Garmadon awoke to an insistent tugging on his top left arm in a blindingly bright room made of tan stone. He clamped his eyes shut again and grimaced as his head throbbed, and then tried to groan as he became aware of the throbbing ache in the rest of his body. What came out instead of a groan of pain was a pathetic croak, and immediately afterwards a cold glass of water was brought up to his mouth and tipped towards him, a hissing voice commanding him to "Just drink it."

Garmadon gulped at the water greedily, feeling some running down the sides of his mouth and nearly choking as he drank too quickly. The glass was pulled away as he began coughing, eyes still closed, and he immediately tried to stop coughing as his head and body throbbed more.

"Where am I?" he rasped, opening his eyes slowly to adjust to the light. The tugging began again on his top left arm, but the noises caused by whatever his caretaker was doing began to sound muffled as his vision blurred. His eyelids grew heavy, and he couldn't seem to move his head to look at what was being done to his arm.

"Ouroboros. Now, My Lord, go to sleep," the voice commanded again. And as if his body listened only to this voice, Garmadon fell asleep again.

 _AN: Sorry if Sensei Wu is out of character. He's so hard to write for._


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

When Garmadon awoke again an indeterminable amount of time later, it was to the insistent tugging on his arm again, as if it hadn't stopped since it had begun. As soon as he opened his eyes this time, another cold glass of water was brought up to his mouth. Annoyed, Garmadon brought up his two right arms, grabbing the glass with one hand and swatting the scaly hand away with the other. Despite his show of rudeness, he brought the glass up to his mouth gratefully and drank in huge swallows. His eyes traveled as he drained the glass over to a white Serpentine with a blue face, who was unwrapping reddish-brown bandages from his top left arm.

"What are you doing?" Garmadon asked when the glass was empty. His body ached less now, but his entire arm which was wrapped in the bandages throbbed dully. The Serpentine had a surprisingly gentle touch, however, and did not jostle his arm in any way to make it hurt that much more.

"I'm tending to your wounds, My Lord," the snake answered. The under-layers of the bandages were redder than the layers above them.

"What wounds?" Garmadon asked, trying and failing to remember what had happened before he'd woken up here the first time.

The Serpentine looked up and stared at him as if searching for any trace of humor, and when he found none he replied, "The wounds inflicted upon you by your son, My Lord."

Immediately, Garmadon's dreams occurred to him again. "And how did my son inflict these wounds upon me?"

He was trying to remember, but his head throbbed sharply in protest when he tried to recall what had obviously gone wrong in order for him to wind up here. The last moment of that night he could remember was his son in his new color of green whirling around in surprise to glare at Garmadon with red eyes.

But wait… that wasn't right.

The snake interrupted his thoughts before Garmadon had a chance to correct his own memory.

"He held the golden light in his hands and set it upon you to consume you," the snake said, sounding oddly reverent, as if he were speaking of a god. Garmadon didn't think that analogy was entirely unfitting considering how much power his son now wielded.

"Lloyd tried to burn me alive," he repeated, but it came out sounding more like a question.

"Yes," the Serpentine answered as he continued to unwrap. "But he only got this far."

Garmadon watched as the snake unwrapped the last layer of bandages around his arm, beginning at the shoulder and moving down towards the wrist. As the skin was exposed, Garmadon was horrified by the extent of the wounds. The snake began speaking as he worked, the words almost too much for Garmadon to handle as he saw exactly how much his son had done to him.

"The burns were very hard to treat," the Hypnobrai said quietly and matter-of-factly.

Garmadon's skin was puckered and discolored under the bandages.

"Your sleeve was burned as well, and we had to remove the fabric from the open wounds before we could treat them."

The skin on his arm was now a light grey color, and where his shoulder became his chest, he could see burns extending into the black skin there, looking like tendrils of flames reaching into his unharmed flesh. Where his skin became black again, he could see blisters that had arisen with the incredible heat of the gold light.

"On your journey back here, you developed a dangerous fever and became delirious. When we finally got you into the infirmary, you fought us as we tried to treat you, saying you had to get back to your son."

The deeper burns were still bleeding slightly, blood rising to the surface once the bandages were removed. The blood reflected light with a tint of purple, which Garmadon immediately recognized as the venom in his veins.

"You fought so hard, and your fever was so dangerous, we had no choice but to sedate you to treat you and lower your temperature. I am sorry, My Lord, but we saw no other choice. We needed to-"

"No need to explain," Garmadon interrupted, wincing as he lifted his arm slightly despite the aching protest of his burned skin and muscle. "You did what you thought was best." A wide burn raised slightly higher than the rest of his charred skin encircled his wrist, though his memory failed him again when he tried to remember what his son had done to him. All he could think of was the image from his dreams of Lloyd with red eyes. "You did what you needed to do." Spots of blood continued to rise from the burns as Garmadon turned his arm to inspect it from all angles. "Cover this up," he commanded, holding out his injured arm.

The Serpentine immediately grabbed a jar of something from the tray of supplies on the bedside table. He smoothed a white salve over Garmadon's burns, which felt as if it were cooling his overheated skin as it made the ache begin to subside. He wrapped the entire arm once the length of it was cooling under the gel, and then wrapped it again, positioning Garmadon's arm at a slightly obtuse angle. The multiple layers made it difficult for Garmadon to bend his arm or straighten it out.

"Do you require anything else, My Lord?"

"More water," Garmadon replied, "and a few minutes of quiet."

"As you wish."

But after the snake had gone and Garmadon was refilling his glass with water from a pitcher for the second time, the familiar voice of a particularly unhappy Serpentine leader attacked him from the doorway, saying, "You really screwed things up this time."

 _AN: I'm sure that's not how to treat burn wounds, but hey, this chapter is about a man with four arms and a human snake, so hopefully some level of fiction is acceptable. X3_

 _P.S: I truly could not think of a good title for this chapter. I tried. :p_


	6. Animosity and Malice

**Chapter 6: Animosity and Malice**

"Skales," Garmadon acknowledged as the Hypnobrai slithered into his room uninvited.

"What good did you think could possibly come from taking an army of Serpentine onto the ninja's ship?" Skales questioned accusingly.

"I did not bring them to _fight_ the ninja," Garmadon said, irritated. "Do you think me foolish enough to give the ninja the advantage of fighting in their own home? I only brought them for protection."

"And how _splendidly_ that worked out for you," Skales hissed sarcastically. "Your son started the fight you were trying so hard to avoid when he attacked you. And the entire _lot_ of snakes you brought with you wouldn't have been enough _protection_ against your son. Not even his fellow _ninja_ could've stopped him from doing what he did to you. The only thing that got you out of there alive was the Mega Weapon."

"The Mega Weapon!" Garmadon exclaimed, jerking up in his bed as he realized its absence by his side. His body ached and his vision swam with the sudden movement, and he lifted his hand to his head to steady himself as he asked, "Where is it? Was it lost to us?"

Skales looked at him disapprovingly. "No. The _dragon_ you brought home held the Weapon between its teeth and ensured no one got near it. Not even _I_ could coax the Weapon away from it. It's probably still sitting out in the Slither Pit with the Weapon in its jaws waiting for _you_ to retrieve it."

Garmadon blinked at him obliviously. "What dragon?"

Skales stared at him for a moment. When the Dark Lord said nothing more, Skales responded, "Don't tell me you don't remember the _dragon_ you summoned up with the Mega Weapon? It's the only thing that got you and the Serpentine out of there alive. And it's been quite the talk around Ouroboros since your return."

"I don't remember summoning any dragon," Garmadon told Skales, unwilling to tell him just how little of that night he actually did remember.

"Oh, right. That was _after_ your own son nearly succeeded in destroying you, and _before_ you lost consciousness," Skales said, and Garmadon was immediately angered by his patronizing tone. "I suppose it's only natural to have a lapse in memory with the kind of night _you_ had."

"That's enough out of you, Skales," Garmadon growled out in barely controlled fury. "Leave at once and allow me to recover in peace."

"Very well, My Lord," Skales said. Garmadon could tell it pained him to add the title of respect. "But I will return on the morrow to discuss how to best go about defending ourselves after this little stunt you pulled."

"Why would we need to defend ourselves when all I did was pay a visit to my son?"

Skales gave him a serious look, and when he spoke there was no trace of the annoyance that was always in his voice when speaking to Garmadon. "Because the ninja don't know that your visit was meant to be innocent. And they know you're injured and weakened. They also know your dragon brought you back here. If they're looking for the perfect time to bring down you, me and all the other Serpentine, they'll know it's now. And your son won't hesitate to do to you again what he did to you that night," he said, giving Garmadon's bandaged arm a tap with his serpent-headed staff. Garmadon pushed it away in irritation. "But this time, he'll finish the job. And once he and the ninja are done with you, they'll come for every last Serpentine. So if any of us hope to avoid those ninja, we must act as soon as you are able."

Skales slithered to the doorway, pausing before he left to add, "In a direct confrontation, none of us would stand a chance against your son, My Lord. Not even you."

And when Garmadon's door shut with a _click_ , he could've sworn for a panicked moment that his masked red-eyed son was standing over his bed, gripping his arms and setting the burning golden light upon him again.

 _AN: Skales speaks with a lot of italics. XD There was really no point in dividing Chapters 5 and 6 except that I wanted to. Next chapter will be longer!_


	7. The Dragon

**Chapter 7: The Dragon**

The next morning, Garmadon was awake when his caretaker returned to his recovery room to change his bandages and tend to anything else the Dark Lord required. The burns looked the same as they had the day before, and just as he had done the day before, the Serpentine removed the bandages layer by layer and smoothed the salve over Garmadon's skin. He let the wounds breathe unconstricted for a few minutes as he disposed of the bandages before rewrapping the entire arm with multiple layers.

As the snake was packing up his supplies to leave, Garmadon asked, "Is the dragon still in the Slither Pit?"

"Last I heard, My Lord," the Serpentine confirmed with a nod. "It hasn't moved since the night it brought you back."

"And it still holds my golden weapon?"

"Yes, My Lord. It's been protecting the weapon fiercely."

"Take me to it," Garmadon instructed, rising from his bed.

As the snake was leading Garmadon down the hall, a voice called out from behind them. "Where do you think you're going?"

Garmadon exhaled in annoyance as he turned around to face Skales. "I'm going to see the dragon and retrieve my Golden Weapon."

"I'll take you to it," Skales told him. "We need to have that talk about what I brought up yesterday." He slithered over to the pair and waved the Serpentine away. "Leave us."

The white Hypnobrai rushed away, and Skales began leading Garmadon to the Slither Pit.

The dragon, though not as big as the ones Garmadon had dreamed about, was a massive creature. Despite the fact that it was lying down with its tail curled close to his body and ending near its head, Garmadon could tell the dragon was an intimidating beast. Its eyes were closed and its breath was slow and steady, but even in its sleep it protected the weapon. The Mega Weapon gleamed within the dragon's mouth, clutched between its huge pointed teeth.

Unsure of how to approach the beast, Garmadon took a moment to inspect it, walking around it in a wide circle. Almost all of its scales were black, save for the purple scales at the end of its tail, on its feet extending up its legs, and a line of purple scales extending from the top of its head to the tip of its muzzle and lining the underside of its jaw reaching down to spread across its chest. Its claws were slightly smaller than its teeth, and its head was bigger than Garmadon himself. Garmadon could see a rough circle drawn around the dragon, probably made by the dragon itself as a way of marking its territory. He didn't dare cross into the makeshift boundary as he returned to Skales, who was still standing near the dragon's massive head.

"So… Dark Lord… how do you plan to retrieve the weapon from this thing and live to use it?" Skales asked, staring at the dragon's viciously sharp teeth.

"You said that I conjured this dragon with the Mega Weapon?" Garmadon asked, paying no attention to Skales' question.

"Yes, My Lord. But I think you should know that almost a dozen snakes have tried unsuccessfully to retrieve the weapon since your return."

Garmadon ignored Skales as he moved forward, walking slowly into the dragon's territorial boundary markings. "You also said this dragon brought me and the weapon back here?"

"Yes. Those Serpentine who angered the dragon are in the infirmary now."

"This thing brought me back here… it saved me?" Garmadon circled around so that he was looking at the dragon's closed left eye.

"Yes, My Lord. The dragon gave a few of the snakes a broken-"

" _Enough_ , Skales," Garmadon commanded the Hypnobrai leader with a severe look over his shoulder. Skales feel silent with no small amount of annoyance.

Focusing his attention back on the dragon, Garmadon backed up a few steps to take in the beast in its entirety. _If he conjured this thing to protect him…_

"Awaken, dragon!" he shouted before he could rethink anything. "Awaken, and return my staff to me!"

Its huge red eye opened immediately and focused on him. Its entire body began to move, two front legs pushing its front half away from the ground as its powerful back legs lifted up its back end. It suddenly pushed its front legs away from the ground and stood on its two back legs as its head lifted into the air. Opening its mouth, it let out an ear-splitting roar, somehow still holding the golden weapon in its mouth, and Garmadon heard the terrified shouts of the crowd of Serpentine that had gathered a good distance away to watch him confront the dragon. For a moment he felt a wave of fear ripple through his muscles, and fought against his own self-preservation instincts in order to hold still and not show his panic. Slowly, maddeningly slowly, the dragon turned towards Garmadon and drew its head high. And as the Serpentine behind him began to yell and scatter in fear, the dragon fell back to its front feet and lowered its head to rest in the dirt at Garmadon's feet, turning its head so that one eye was inspecting the dirt and the other was searching the sky.

Silence fell behind Garmadon as the dragon presented the weapon to him, the elaborately carved head just an arm's length away. He stared at the submissive dragon in surprise, momentarily unable to move as if the behemoth would change its mind and swallow him instead. The dragon breathed patiently, huffing out through its nostrils and raising little dust clouds at Garmadon's feet. Its eye flicked about idly, and then focused in on Garmadon as he raised a right arm towards the weapon. The red eye followed the hand as it reached for the golden weapon.

Garmadon paused, hand outstretched just short of the weapon, and realized that everything around him had gone still in anticipation. Even the dragon had fallen completely motionless, its warm breath no longer blowing dust over his feet. Slowly, he reached out the rest of the way and gripped the golden handle. The dragon opened its jaws slightly as he lifted the weapon out of its mouth. When Garmadon was holding the weapon again, the dragon righted its head and nudged him in the leg. He rested his uninjured left hand on the dragon's muzzle and ran a hand along the purple scales.

The Serpentine behind him suddenly broke out into cheers, only increasing in volume when Garmadon turned around and raised the Mega Weapon above his head, hand still resting on the dragon's muzzle.

From the center of the crowd, Skales sighed as the Serpentine yelled and jostled him around. He shoved his way to the front of the crowd and as he slithered up to the dragon tamer he hissed under his breath, "This small victory wins you _nothing_ in the battle against your son."

Garmadon sobered suddenly, expression hardening as he came down quickly from his high of playing to the crowd. "Fine," he said. We'll go to my quarters to discuss our next move." Turning back to the dragon, he shouted, "Stretch your wings, Dragon!"

It immediately reared up onto its hind legs and opened its massive wings. The crowd of snakes gasped in amazement.

"Now fly! Soar the skies and return here by nightfall!"

With a roar, the dragon crouched low and then pushed away from the ground, its wings flapping down to give it enough lift to stay airborne. When it was high enough off of the ground, it began to fly away from the Slither Pit, letting out another roar as if in farewell. The Serpentine cheered as it grew smaller on the horizon, and turned towards each other in near-delirious excitement to talk.

As Garmadon began leading the Hypnobrai leader away from the crowd, Skales said, "That was quite a gamble you took, yelling into the ear of a sleeping dragon."

"It wasn't a gamble," Garmadon corrected. "I created the dragon to protect me, even if I didn't realize it at the time. It is loyal to me. I knew it would not attack, just as I know it will return here as I instructed it to and follow any command I give it," Garmadon told him as he inspected his newly reacquired weapon.

"But can it stand up against the ninja's four-headed dragon?" Skales reminded him contemptuously.

Irritated, Garmadon growled out, "It _will_ , because it _must_. And if it cannot, I will make it able." He jabbed the pointed spear of the weapon into the dirt for emphasis.

"You shouldn't rely so heavily on that weapon, My Lord. A few of the Serpentine that were there that night told me that the staff empowered Lloyd when he grabbed hold of it."

Garmadon didn't remember that. But that wasn't something Skales needed to know. "Anything my son can use against me I will adapt to."

Skales shook his head and said," You're deluding yourself." In a quieter voice he added, "It will be the end of you."

Pretending as if he hadn't heard, Garmadon opened the door to his personal quarters and gestured for Skales to enter. He followed Skales in with a sigh, knowing the two would be arguing for a long while. But if Garmadon's visit to his son really had provoked the ninja, then he and his snakes had something to worry about. And as much as he disliked Skales, Garmadon knew he needed his help and his loyalty to ensure the ninja didn't have a chance at retaliation.

* * *

Despite the laughter and fond memories he had shared with his fellow ninja at the monastery, the night after the incident with his father Lloyd hadn't been able to sleep. He had barely gotten any sleep the next night either, or the night after that. Eventually, Lloyd stopped trying to sleep at all.

Sensei had stayed true to his words from before the attack, and Lloyd had restarted his training at the most basic level. The ninja had all been supportive after retrieving him from the monastery, as was their nature, assuring him that his father would be okay and that he shouldn't hold himself responsible for what had happened. And while Lloyd appreciated their efforts at cheering him up, he couldn't quite convince himself that they were right. Though the others all made themselves available to him to talk, they didn't press the issue when Lloyd kept to himself, and for that he was grateful. He knew expressing his guilt in words would do nothing to comfort him; which was why, on the fourth night after the incident, Lloyd waited until the others had all fallen asleep and then snuck off the ship onto his dragon to fly alone to Ouroboros.

The flight through the desert from the ship to the Lost City took over an hour, and though it felt long while in the air, it almost felt too soon when the city finally came into view. Once they were close enough to view the entire city and yet far enough away that they wouldn't be spotted, Lloyd pulled on the reins and instructed his dragon hold their position in the air. He reached into a pouch attached to the saddle and pulled out a pair of binoculars. Raising them to his eyes, he scanned the entire city slowly, searching for any sign of his father.

There were all manner of Serpentine wandering the perimeter of the city, seemingly relaxed yet on the alert for anything out of the ordinary. They seemed to have the entire city covered well at all times, with no significant gaps between patrols in any particular section. Lloyd knew it would be impossible for him to sneak into the city undetected to search for his father within the buildings- he wasn't exactly the ideal ninja at the moment considering his continuing awkwardness. He would just have to sit and wait to check on his father until he emerged from wherever he was at the moment.

With a sigh, Lloyd lowered his binoculars. His hand moved to pet the dragon's neck, and he was about to instruct the dragon to land in the sand below them when a sudden piercing shriek from behind them made Lloyd whip his head around. The Ultra Dragon turned in the air suddenly, jerking Lloyd around in the saddle and making him drop his binoculars. He gripped the reins as he searched the black sky for the source of the sound, and was able to make out the outline of a huge black dragon flying directly at them.

His father's dragon.

The Ultra Dragon rose slightly higher into the air as the dragon flew towards them, letting out a roar as it reared to fight.

"No!" Lloyd shouted, frantic to avoid the fight which would surely attract the attention of the entire lost city. "Dive!" he commanded, giving the first order which came to his mind. The Ultra Dragon roared unhappily, but obeyed, nose-diving and drawing its wings in slightly as it soared towards the sand. Lloyd looked behind them to see the black dragon turning in the air as the Ultra Dragon soared under and past it, and began to follow the four-headed dragon, gaining on them quickly. The Ultra Dragon evened out, flying parallel to the ground at a speed which made Lloyd's eyes water. He glanced behind them again to see the black dragon still following them. It rose above them slowly until it was flying directly overhead, and then dove at them suddenly.

"Down!" Lloyd commanded instinctively. He looked back up at the black dragon in a panic, which was almost close enough to bite the Ultra Dragon's tail, and when he looked forward again, the ground was no more than twenty bricks away and coming at them fast.

Lloyd yelled out in fear, closing his eyes as his entire body tensed in anticipation of the impact, but when the Ultra Dragon hit nothing, Lloyd opened his eyes to find them flying through a dark cavern. The black dragon was still behind them, and both dragons weaved through the curving tunnel. Lloyd turned forward again, holding the reins in a white-knuckled grip as the Ultra Dragon swerved between stalagmites. A moment later the cavern ended, opening up to a cave so large it looked endless. The Ultra Dragon skidded to a halt on an island that seemed to be floating in midair, stopping so quickly that Lloyd was launched out of the saddle. He hit the dirt hard with a grunt and slid, his momentum propelling him across the tiny island until, suddenly, his face was hanging over the edge and he was staring into nothingness. He yelled in fright and dug his hands and feet into the dirt to slow himself, stopping a moment later with his chest hanging over the edge.

For a moment, he couldn't seem to make himself move, breathing heavily as his heart pounded and his wide eyes stared at the plunge he had nearly taken. His shaking hands moved to grip the edge of the island and he pushed himself up slightly to stare open-mouthed at what he could only assume was the Underworld.

 _AN: Would it be too expected of me to say I left you with a_ cliff-hanger _? XD_


	8. The Underworld

**Chapter 8: The Underworld**

Lloyd's mind went blank, and for a moment the only thought he could process was that it was really, really dark. Every other island he could see was covered in the same black dirt that was now smeared over his gi and coating his hands. Structures composed of dark stone dotted a few of the islands, the architecture ominous and intimidating. The only source of light came from torches with purple flames, which seemed to be placed on every island, including the one Lloyd was nearly hanging off of.

Carefully, Lloyd pushed himself up into a sitting position and scooted himself away from the edge on his butt, not yet trusting his legs, which continued to tremble as adrenaline hyped up his entire body. He glanced behind him looking for his dragon and noticed that the black dragon had landed on the island, as well. Both dragons were lying on their sides, panting. Moving quickly, Lloyd crawled over to the Ultra Dragon, tugging on the reins to get him to sit up and flee from the massive black dragon before it recovered.

"Come on!" he hissed, receiving a groan in response. The Ultra Dragon stood despite its exhaustion, prompting the black dragon to stand as well. The two dragons balked at each other and sniffed one another warily, letting out noises as a form of communication that Lloyd couldn't begin to understand. He stood nervously, waiting for some kind of confrontation between the two dragons, until, seemingly satisfied that the Ultra Dragon was not an enemy, the black dragon turned to Lloyd to inspect him. Lloyd flinched away as its head leaned in to smell him, tensing when he heard the black dragon let out a deep, clicking growl from the back of its throat. The Ultra Dragon reacted suddenly, using all four of its heads to snap at the black dragon, coming immediately to Lloyd's defense.

Letting out a roar, the black dragon leapt away from the Ultra Dragon, pausing a moment later as the Ultra Dragon growled. The black dragon let out another roar in response, pausing again to gauge the Ultra Dragon's disposition, but then turned away leapt off the island as it vocalized its displeasure, flying towards the caverns the dragons had just exited, seemingly deciding a confrontation wasn't worth the effort. It disappeared into a cavern Lloyd couldn't even see the entrance to. Turning back to his dragon, Lloyd petted one of its head in thanks and hopped into the saddle, suddenly realizing that he had no idea how to get back up to the surface. He glanced at the caverns again, wondering if they worked going both ways. But more than Lloyd wanted to get out, he wanted to see more of the Underworld, a morbid curiosity overwhelming him as he looked around him in wonderment.

"C'mon, boy," he instructed, tugging lightly on the reins. "Let's take a look around." The dragon stood and walked to the edge, opening its wings to glide through the air as it stepped over the opposite side of the island Lloyd had nearly fallen off of. They soared for a while, the dragon responding easily to Lloyd's light tugs on the reins. The buildings were few and far between, and Lloyd wondered if this part of the Underworld was considered the outskirts. He didn't see any of the residents, but remembered what his uncle had told him about the skeletons that lived down here. He wondered if any of them knew about his destiny as a ninja, or if they would recognize his dragon. His mask was pulled off of his face- even if his name was known around here as Garmadon's son, he doubted any of them knew what he looked like now.

They flew for a minute more, and Lloyd realized that where they had ended up was significantly darker than where they had emerged from. Looking around curiously, he noticed that the number of purple torches had not decreased- yet he could barely distinguish between walls and shadows.

"Does it seem darker to you over here?" Lloyd wasn't sure what kind of response he expected, but the part of him that recognized how alone he was down here had him searching for any kind of interaction.

One of the dragon's heads turned around to look at him, then looked off to the side and blew a puff of fire into the air. It climbed and waved and warmed Lloyd's side, but it hardly seemed to give off any light.

"Do that again," he said, and stared at the next plume of fire. It gave off even less light, even though it had been the same size as the first. "Now do a big one," Lloyd whispered.

He felt it as the dragon's lungs expanded between his feet, then contracted as a stream of fire flowed from the dragon's mouth. Sweat beaded on his forehead from the heat as fire waved past him like a banner in the wind. Lloyd's heart pounded. He could barely see anything. It seems as if everything around him was going black.

He began to feel enveloped by the darkness, as if it were coating the insides of his eyelids and being inhaled into his lungs. His father had spent years down here… Had this happened to him, as well?

He shuddered violently at the thought, tugging a bit too hard on the reins as he commanded his dragon sternly, "Get us out of here."

The Ultra Dragon turned at the command, flying towards the wall of the massive cave. Lloyd's vision continued to worsen, as if the darkness was slowly overcoming his ability to see. He could barely make out the cavern the Ultra Dragon flew into, and a moment later, he was blind.

When they emerged from the dragon's portal, Lloyd squinted in the comparative brightness of the surface world, despite it being the dead of night, and let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Lloyd looked around at the desert surrounding them, realizing he had no idea which way took them back to the ship. The Ultra Dragon, however, seemed to know exactly where to go as it took control of their direction, soaring through the night sky as the wind ruffled Lloyd's hair. Lloyd had half-expected the dragon to collapse into the sand and rest again, but the journey to the surface seemed to be less exhausting than the journey down.

They soared for nearly another hour, and Lloyd could do nothing but make himself comfortable as his eyes readjusted to the light of the surface world. The ship came into view, and the Ultra Dragon slowed as they neared it, flapping hard to lower them safely to the ground next to the ship. Lloyd gave the dragon an affectionate pet as he dismounted from the saddle.

Tip-toeing back to his room, Lloyd was almost surprised to find that none of the ninja had awoken to find him missing and get him into trouble for endangering himself so immensely. He slid into his bed, silently staring at the ceiling as he tried to imagine being trapped in the Underworld for years.

 _A/N: This chapter was meant to be longer and this would have been the page break, but I legit have no idea how to finish the section after this. That's why this has taken so long to be updated! I cannot find inspiration, even though I have chapters way after this point in time written. I just don't know how to write for the ninja's downtime. Apologies for the wait._

 _Does this part feel rushed to you guys? It feels kind of rushed to me._

 _Has a_ _nyone seen the trailer for the Lego Ninjago movie? I am so not happy! Their voices are different, Garmadon is different! Not cool, man. It did spur me into posting again though, so there is that._

 _Anyways, I love you all, and thank you for coming back or possibly joining me for the first time. Happy reading. c: (7/18/17)_


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